The invention relates to a coax connector and more particularly to a coax connector module with a plurality of shielded electrical contact elements wherein each contact element has a contact end formed of coaxial inner and outer contact parts and a connecting end for mounting on a printed circuit board.
When using high frequency (HF) signals, it is particularly important to electrically shield the terminal connected to the inner part of the coaxial contact element in order to avoid interference and electromagnetic stray or leakage fields around the terminal. PCT International Publication No. WO 87/07441 published Dec. 3, 1987 discloses a shielded electrical connector comprising a housing having a plurality of housing sections of conductive material, each having a plurality of retaining channels for accommodating the contact elements and terminals disposed therein. Such a housing is in practice relatively expensive to manufacture because of the plurality of housing sections of conductive material, whether or not coated with insulating material, and the fact that the housing is designed for a specific connector embodiment having, for example, a specific number of contact elements.
PCT International Publication No. WO 90/09686 published Aug. 23, 1990 discloses a metallic shielding shell for placement over an isolated terminal. The shell only partially encloses the terminal and is in electrical contact with a ground terminal of the connector. With such a separate shielding shell, the signal terminal, which is the terminal connected to the inner contact part of a coaxial contact element, is not totally enclosed. Interference signals can therefore be superimposed on the various information signals communicated via the contact element. Also stray radiation and accordingly mutual interference between adjacent contact elements is not eliminated with the shielding shell disclosed.